Tricycle



(No Model.) 2 Shets--Sheet 1.

A. v. SMITH.-

TRIGYGLB.

No. 503,009. Patented Aug. 8, 1893.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I VA. V. $MITH.

- TRIGYO'LE.

No. 503,009. 0 Patented Aug. 8, 1893.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADDISON V. SMITH, OF CORTLAND, NEW YORK.

TRlCY -CLE.

srncrr'rcn'rron forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,009, dated August 8, 1893.

Application filed March 17, 1893. Serial No. 466,496. (No model.) I

T0 on whom it may concern j: V

Be it known that I, ADDISONV. SMITH, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Cort land, in the county of Cortland and State'of New York, have invented a new and useful Tricycle, of which the following is a specification. 1

My invention relates to improvements in tricycles of that class in which the drivewheels are operated or propelled by handlevers.

The objects in View are to provide a tricycle adapted to be used by ladies and gentlemen as well as children, and which shall be of cheap and simple construction, light, and consisting of few parts; to avoid dead centers, and to provide for a ready means of guidance or steering whereby the machine is adapted to be turned in narrow spaces and hence well adapted for narrow roads, pave ments, &c., where the ordinary machine would not be.

With these and other objects in View the invention consists in certain features of construction hereinafter specified and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tricycle constructed in accordance withmy invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail in perspective of the foot-rest supporting shaft, the foot-rests thereon and the pivot-wheels in the rests. Fig. 4 is a detail in perspective of the swiveled turntable for carrying the rudder or steeringwheel.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures 0f the drawings.

In practicing my invention I employ alight steel-frame, the same consisting of the opposite side-portions 1, the rear semicircular-portion 2, and the front converging ends 3. The frame is preferably formed of a single piece of light tubing whose terminals are joined at the front of the machine or if desired the frame may be otherwise formed. From the opposite sides 1 of the frame rises a pair of standards 4, the said standards supporting at their upper ends a convenient seat 5, which in the present instance has its front edge at opposite sides of its center hollowed out to receive or accommodate the legs of the rider.

The standards are of course suitably braced to render them rigid, and between their ends are provided with transversely aligning journal-boxes 6. These journal-boxes, like those hereinafter described or mentioned, may be of any suitable construction and provided with ball, cone, or any other of the common forms of bearings ordinarily employed in the make up of machines of this character.

In the journal-boxes 6 there is mounted for rotation the drive-shaft 7 of the machine, the ends of the shaft projecting beyond the standards and terminating in suitable bearings or journals for the reception of ground-wheels 8; These" ground-wheels 8 are preferably formed of wood, though as will be obvious the ordinary tubular or other shaped wheel usually employed in this class of machines may be substituted. In the present instance, however, they are formed of wood. In this instance between the journal-boxes 6, the shaft 7 is provided with a cranked portion 9 at the center of which a bearing is formed. It will be understood that in some instances, as for the use of ladies and children, the cranked-portion 9 will be formed at the sides of the standards 4, so that the propelling-levers then employed will be located at each side of the person. In the present instance, however, as will hereinafter appear, a single propelling-leverfbeing employed the machine is adapted merely for use by males.

A pair of bracket-arms 10, are secured to the standards 4, incline and converge to a point slightly above the plane of the seat 5 and a short distance in advance of the same, said bracket-arms being braced by central inclined-braces 11, which are secured to the seat and lead to the point of convergence of the said arm 10. These bracket-arms 10 are provided with bearing-openings as are also the braces 11, and through the medium of a transverse pivot-pin 13 passing through the perforations 12 there is pivoted upon the arms a journal-box 14, which box ,is made fast to the intermediate point of an oscillating or vibrating hand-lever 15 whose upper end is provided with a cross-head or handle 16 externally shaped to form proper grips for the hands of the'operator. The front side or face of the lever 15 is preferably provided with a suitable truss-brace 17, it being desirable to render the lever as rigid as is necessary and yet at the same time to preserve lightness. A bearing-box 18, is located at the lower end of the lever 15 and a connecting-bar 19, is by means of a pin 20, pivotally connected with the bearing-box 18, and therefore with the lower end of the lever 15. A clip bearing 21, serves to connect the rear or free end of the bar 19 with the centralbearing formed in the crank-portion 9 of the axle, so that as will be obvious, oscillations upon the part of the lever 15 will be communicated to the axle and ground-wheels.

As before stated, one of the objects of my invention is to avoid dead-centers and to counterbalance, I might say, the weight of the depending cranked-portion of the axle together with the accessories of the machine thatare connected therewith. To accomplish this object therefore I provide a pair of brackets 22, one for each wheel, the said brackets consisting simply of a spider-frame whose terminals are clamped or otherwise socured to two adjacent spokes of the Wheels and at points nearly diametrically opposite the crank of the axle. These brackets have secured thereto weights 23 which are slightly greater than the weight of the axle and its accessories, so that the machine being left free would stop with the weights down and the crank up or slightly beyond the verticalline whereby as will be obvious, it is then in the best position for applying the power for the purpose of starting the machine. Of course these weights may be omitted if desired and I do not limit the invention to the use of the same.

Upon the front end of the framework there is pivoted by a bolt 25 an oscillating tillerbar 26, which, in a manner hereinafter described, controls and regulates the rudder or steering-wheel.

Secured to the frame 1 at the rear end thereof and conforming to its curvature is a stationary guide-ring 27, and located under the same and swiveled thereon is a movable or oscillating ring or frame 28. The ring or frame 28 is L-shaped in cross-section and has a central annular-portion which fits within the stationary-ring 27 and is provided at intervals upon its upper side with keepers 29 which overlap the upper side of the ring 27, and hence prevent disengagement of the rings and retain the ring 28 in operative position within and under the ring 27. At diametrically opposite sides the under side of the ring 28 is provided with boxes 30, and journaled in the boxes is a transverse shaft 31, at the center of which is mounted the rudder or steering-wheel 32, which as will be obvious will move with the swiveled-ring. The journal boxes 30 have their front ends extended as shown at 33.

Depending from the under side of the frame in line with the standards 4, or in fact they may be an extension of the standards, is a pair of journal-boxes 34, and in said bearings a transverse shaft is mounted. This shaft has loosely suspended thereon a pair of convenient levers 36, the same having eyes 37 formed at their upper ends through which the shaft loosely passes.

Coiled-springs 38, are mounted on the shaft 35, in rear of each of the levers and serve to depress said lovers in an inclined position. In rear of the levers stop-arms or lugs 39,depend from the boxes 34 and hence limit the downward movements of the same. The levers are provided at their front ends w1th slots and at each side thereof with bearingeyes 40. In each slot there is located asmall guide-wheel 41, the shaft of the guide-wheel taking into the eyes 40. Perforated lugs 12 are located at each side of the slot of each lever, and from these lugs chains 43 extend forward and are connected with the tiller 26 at each side of the pivot 25 of the latter. Tiller-chains 44; are connected to the extremities of the tiller 26, cross under the seat 5 of the machine, and are connected to the perforated lugs or extensions of the boxes 30 located upon the under side of the swiveled wheel-carrying ring 28.

This completes the construction of the machine, and the operation thereof, though perhaps apparent from the description, may be briefly stated as follows: The rider being seated upon the machine rests his feet upon the foot-rests on the tiller-bar. By operating the lever by hand it will be seen that motion will be communicated through the connectlug-bar to the crank of the axle and from thence to the wheels, and so the machine driven. When it is desired to guide the machine to the right or left it is simply necessary to push that foot-rest of the tiller-bar located at the side in which it is desired the machine should move, said foot-rest being swung to a more or less extent in accordance with the sharpness of the turn. Now if it be desired to reverse the machine in a short space, the tiller-bar at the side of the machine in which it is desired to turn is pushed to its fullest extent, which permits the correspond ing lever to descend until it arrives in contact with the depending stop-arm. Before cont-acting with the stop-arm the small pivotwheel of said lever comes in contact with the ground and the machine being in motion causes said lever to elevate the ground-wheel at that side of the machine from contact with the ground, whereupon the small wheel of the lever then becomes the pivot-wheel and the machine swings around in a space agreeing with its width, whereas in the ordinary machine where one ground-wheel serves as a pivot-wheel and the other describes the circle, a space twice the width of the machine is re quired in which the machine can turn. It will be seen that the levers are prevented by the stops from swinging to the rear beyond a vertical line, or in fact, quite to a verticalline, and thus may be readily returned.

As before indicated many of the details of ITO construction may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I therefore do not limit said invention to such details as have been shown and described, but hold that I may vary the same to any extent and degree within the knowlege of the skilled mechanic.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a cycle, the combination with the frame, a crank-axle, ground-wheels having spokes, and means for propelling the same, of a pair of spider-frames clamped to two adjacent spokes of the wheels, and weights secured to the centers of the spider-frames, substantially as specified.

2. In a cycle, the combination with a frame, and a steering -wheel, of an axle, ground- Wheels, means for propelling the groundwheels, a pair of levers suspended from the frame, stops arranged in rear of the levers, connecting devices between the levers and the steering-wheel, and pivot-wheels located upon the levers at the free ends thereof and adapted to contact with the ground when depressed and thus elevate the ground-wheels,substantially as specified.

3. In a cycle, the combination with a frame, an axle, ground-wheels and means. for driving the axle, of a steering-wheel, a tiller-bar pivoted to the framework, tiller-chains between the tiller-bar and the steering-wheel, levers pivoted between the ground-wheels, connecting-chains between the tiller-bar and wheels, stops arranged in rear of the levers, pivotwheels journaled in the lower ends of the levers, and connecting-chains between said 1evers and the tiller-bar, substantially as specified.

4. In a cycle, the combination with the frame having the rear rounded end, the stat1onary ring secured and conforming to said rounded end, the swivel ring L-shaped in cross-sect on located within and under said stationary rlng and provided with keepers overlapplng the latter, bearings in the opposite sides of the swiveled ring, a shaft mounted in the bearings, a steering-wheel mounted on the shaft, lugs extending from the bearings, and atillerbar pivoted to the opposite or front end of the frame, of an axle, ground-wheels, means for operating the same, a transverse shaft supported by the frame between the groundwheels, levers loosely suspended from the shaft, springs for normally depressing the levers, stops arranged in rear of the levers, pivot-wheels having their journals mounted in bearings at the free ends of the levers, tiller-chains crossing each other and connecting the lugs of the swiveled ring with the extremities of the tiller-bar, and connectingchains between said tiller-bar and the free ends of the levers, substantially as speclfied.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ADDISON V. SMITH.

Witnesses:

F. D. SMITH, H. T. BUSHNELL. 

